Housing market, meet the stock market. You two have a lot in common, though plenty of people believe you’re worlds apart. They think the housing market is a very smart place to invest, while stocks are treacherous. They’re half right. Stocks do have a nasty side, but so does residential real estate.
We may be seeing it emerge in the latest resale housing numbers. Sales across Canada fell 12 per cent on a year-over-year basis in November, and prices dipped almost 1 per cent. Vancouver sales were down 29 per cent, and prices fell 1.7 per cent; Toronto sales fell 16 per cent, while prices moved 1.6 per cent higher………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The housing market is on firmer ground today, as two major tax provisions survived the “fiscal cliff.” Congress did not touch the mortgage interest deduction, and it extended tax relief for one year on mortgage debt forgiveness.
“An extension of the tax break is positive for home values by reducing the number of foreclosures and helping more troubled borrowers stay in their homes,” wrote Jaret Seiberg of Guggenheim Partners. “That means less supply on the market.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Home values are now increasing nationwide. While that’s certainly better than the alternative, a deeper dive into the data reveals a serious crack in the foundation: too few first-time homebuyers.
First-time homebuyers are the vital first rung on the home ownership ladder. They are usually buying from a seller who is “trading up” to a more expensive home or building a new one. When potential new buyers sit on the sidelines, existing homeowners are stuck, unable to move out and up………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Real estate has distinct momentum heading into 2013, with demand finally starting to catch up with supply and significantly fewer distressed properties weighing down the system. As 2012 wound down, the national vacancy rate for owned homes had dropped to 1.9% from a downturn high of 2.9%.
That’s still above the 1.5% norm but nevertheless encouraging. The ever-optimistic National Association of Realtors predicts a 5% rise in median existing home prices through 2013, though most forecasters see a more modest 3% upswing in real estate prices………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The “topsy-turvy” nature of the housing market was in evidence, as official figures showed that prices edged up but sales slowed. House prices increased by 0.3% month-on-month in November to reach £161,490 across England and Wales, pushing them 0.9% higher than a year earlier, the Land Registry said.
But sales were more sluggish, with 57,971 transactions taking place between June and September 2012, representing a drop of around 7% on the same period in 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

House prices in Britain are still artificially high according to economists, despite a report revealing that the property market is set for the longest slump since records began. The ‘topsy-turvy’ nature of the housing market was in evidence further today with official figures from the Land Registry showed that prices edged up 0.9 per annually but sales slowed.
According to a host of experts polled by the Financial Times, 44 said houses were overvalued compared to 26 who said they are not – yet despite this few of them expect any sharp falls this year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The London area real estate market was stable in 2012 with total sales almost equal to the previous year. The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) said 8,020 homes traded hands in 2012, 28 fewer units than the 8,048 homes sold in 2011.
The December market reflected the rest of the year with 381 sales, down slightly from 384 sales in December 2011. “The difference is very marginal and just what we expected from our market, which has proven itself once again to be steady, reliable and balanced,” said Barb Whitney, president of LSTAR……………………………………….Full Article: Source

After reaching record highs in property prices in 2012, activity on Norway’s housing market is expected to drop in 2013 as new policies are introduced. According to a release by two industry associations, house prices will still rise this year, but the percentage would be somewhere between 4 and 6, after a 7.7% spike in 2012.
The slower rise of prices will be the consequence of new rules on bank loan reserves are introduced, directly affecting mortgage lending, Norwegian realtor association NEF and real estate agency body EFF said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Opening up the Turkish property market to new buyers is helping to drive demand, according to one industry expert. Bilfer Budak Roche, who heads up Leggett Turkey, explained that since the country gave access to buyers from new countries such as the Middle East and Russia, Turkish real estate has been the subject of much more activity.
Abolishing the reciprocity rule has also helped to drive demand for some of the country’s key resorts, ensuring the eyes of many investors are firmly on Turkey. Research from the association of real estate investment companies (GYODER) has shown that in 2012, new home prices in the country grew by just over 12 per cent, bucking the trend for falling prices across Europe………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai’s real estate sector is on an upswing and this time the growth is based on solid fundamentals, say experts. So are we back to 2007-2008 prices? “In some areas we are back to late 2007, early 2008 prices. But this is not the case everywhere. Prices in the current market are ‘real’ and the properties are worth the value they are selling for,” said Renan Bourdeau, Managing Director, Propertyfinder.ae.
According to Bourdeau, Palm, Marina, Downtown, Jumeirah Park are the main areas experiencing increases. “Average return on investment (ROI) in these properties is around eight per cent. Confidence has returned to the market and we’ve seen more expats moving back to the region,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The real estate sector is witnessing a boom after a prolonged lull, with transactions almost doubling in 2012, and the prices of land near existing and planned development projects across the country galloping to incredible highs.
The value of real estate deals struck last year totalled a staggering QR42bn ($11.5bn), up 59.1 percent over 2011. The transactions averaged a record QR3.5bn a month or, QR175m a day………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The UAE central bank recently issued a circular instructing commercial banks in the country to restrict mortgage loans to foreigners at 50 per cent of the property’s value, Reuters reported earlier this week.
While the central bank has not yet confirmed the ruling, the report said that the move was probably aimed at ensuring that the UAE real estate does not develop another property bubble as it did in 2008/2009………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Asia-Pacific prime property markets are unlikely to outperform the other regions of the world in 2013 as government policies dent demand for residential homes, according to Knight Frank predictions.
Nicholas Holt, Knight Frank’s research director for the region, said government interventions, aimed at mitigating the risk of asset bubbles and addressing concerns of affordability are taking a toll………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Luxury real estate, that remained muted in the first half of 2012, picked up demand third quarter on, according to consultants and analysts. The industry describes projects priced beyond Rs 5 crore in Delhi and the National Capital Region region as luxury, but the benchmark is Rs 10 crore for Mumbai.
Data from Propequity, a real estate advisory and consulting firm, shows a 68 per cent decline in the absorption of the luxury units in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the same quarter in 2011. In the second quarter, the rate of decline was 22 per cent, and was down to just three per cent in the third quarter………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The hottest properties in this frenetic city have no walls, windows or even front doors. Forget condos, apartments and homes. Real estate investors are scrambling for parking spaces.
Single slots are now selling for more than some modest Southern California homes. Witness the $288,000 paid in November for a parking place in a luxury apartment complex on Hong Kong Island. Or the $166,000 tab for a spot in a suburban development called Festival City………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Prices of new private homes in Singapore rose to a new record in the fourth quarter of 2012. This comes on the back of rising demand for private homes in the sub-urban areas.
Preliminary data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed a 1.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase to a record 211.9 points in the fourth-quarter period from the previous quarter. But prices increased by about 2.8 per cent for the entire 2012, slower than 2011’s 5.9 per cent increase………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The latest figures from Manila demonstrate that the Philippine Stock Exchange ended 2012 at 5,812.73, up 33 percent from 2011. According to ABS-CBN news, 2012 saw the Philippine Stock Exchange hit record highs on 38 occasions, the most ever in one year.
However, director of research at AB Capital, Jovis Vistan, suggests that these gains are not likely to last………………………………………..Full Article: Source